A Confusing Destiny
by The-Beagle312
Summary: Fireteam Octavia are in for a ride when they are forced into a vex portal, bound for destinations unknown (Permanent Hiatus)
1. What to do about nothing

**Chapter 1: What to do about nothing**

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Venus, a largely inhospitable planet before the golden age of the traveler, was now teeming with beautiful flora and fauna. Its intense beauty interrupted by a large collection of buildings that once housed the greatest minds humanity had to offer, unfortunately it now lay a desiccated ruin. This building was filled with teeming hordes of fallen and vex, constantly warring with each other in an endless battle for planetary control. It was an effort in futility as the areas of control had barely changed since Atheon had been defeated.

Those minions of the darkness couldn't distract from the immense satisfaction of seeing a fallen captains head blasted into smithereens by a high velocity shell. The loud retort that followed echoed around the fireteam lying about on a cliff.

"Never gets old!" Vince, a roguish gunslinger from the early days of the fight against the darkness. His golden gun was infamous in the crucible for its unerring accuracy and unrivaled power. "Ain't nothing better than a sunny day, and a high powered rifle".

"Couldn't agree more my friend" Xandar the inquisitive warlock, a passionate voidwalker with a mind of steel. He constantly sought to grow his own power, and was known to do anything to get it. He was currently reading up on the 'books of sorrow' while reclining on his sparrow.

Atlas, an imposing titan responded."Well, it would have been better to crush his head with my hands" He was used to obliterating his enemies his innate power and insane delivery, nothing survived his fist of havoc. And nothing pleased him more than 'feeling their puny skulls crack in his fists, and the warm sensation of their blood on his hands'.

Xandar spun around to face Atlas "Well of course, Why wouldn't a Titan love to get up close and personal with a deadly alien from space?" His voice dripping with sarcasm

"That's not all I'm good at" Atlas mumbled under his breath, kicking a small rock off the cliff. It bounced off the various outcroppings on the way down and then finally settled on the bottom. Echoes of its passage seemed to last forever until silence fell once again.

"Does Atlas have a soft side?" Xandar mocked

"Well he sure as hell doesn't have a handsome side" Vince laughed to himself, the subtle movements throwing off his aim. The shot he had fired careened off course, striking a Vex statue and barely denting the odd metal that covered it.

He briefly turned to Atlas "well… guess you can't hit 'em all"

Atlas's rumbling laughter entered the ears of Xandar who started laughing along with him. Unable to stop himself Vince joined in and their combined mirth filled the clifftop. As the laughter died down Vince moved his trained eye back to his scope.

"That's odd, statues don't usually move" Vince noted, then stood up and peered more intently down his scope.

"Well that ain't good", without looking away from his scope he warned the rest of the fireteam, "Get ready guys, we're about to have company"

Xandar took cover behind his sparrow and pulled his 'MIDA' off his back. He quickly checked his HUD for his ammo count then pulled the slide back to confirm it visually. Meanwhile Atlas swung his 'found verdict' out of it's holster, and held it low by his hip, reminiscent of the action heroes in the old vidocs. Vince, already aware of the threat, had already pulled out his 'last word' and held it at the ready with other hand on the hammer, ready to unload on to the machine when it appeared in front of them.

It surprised none of them when it phased in. A large Minotaur, at least 8ft tall stood before them. it dwarfed even Atlas, much to his annoyance. Its ornate and decorative armor, with a large halo protruding out of its head, as well as the high grade metals that made up it's chassis denoted it as a precursor. An ancient Vex usually only seen near places of strategic importance. Within seconds it had raised its large right arm, inner mechanisms and gears grinding from interior corrosion, and begun charging the huge cannon built into it. The smell of ozone filled the air and a purple glow emitted from the various ports along the weapon, barely able to contain the colossal energies swirling around within it.

Without hesitation Atlas threw his shotgun to Vince, who easily caught it with one outstretched hand. Xandar, who had already holstered his 'MIDA', was watching as Atlas went to work.

He started by throwing a stun grenade at the Minotaur blinding it's sensors and making it reel around in confusion as its sensor units struggled to clear away the disturbance. Then he broke into a sprint and charged the towering machine. The cannon on its arm discharged into the air, its aim ruined. dropping his shoulder at the last minute, a corona of light surrounded him. When he was in range he gained a burst of speed as he crashed into its frame crumpling the metal surrounding it's fluid core which burst from the pressure.

"Atlas, that was...gratuitous" Xandar noted, clapping his hands slowly

"Well maybe if you took your head out of that book once in awhile, you'd be just as awesome and badass as me" Atlas shouted, his arms pumping in the air to celebrate his victory

"Guys, enough celebration" Vince interjected, " we still have a lot of nothing to do, and alotta time to do it"

Following this Atlas went back to polishing his pride and joy, the helm of the greatest Titan to ever live, Saint-14. Vince was settling back in for some more long-range fun. Meanwhile Xandar walked over to his sparrow, to finish reading the 'books of sorrow'. Depressing stuff for what was supposed to be a vacation but he had long since run out of things to read. Just as he was sitting down a loud static crackled out of the radio. It was an indecipherable mess until the steady voice of Zavala, the titan vanguard, broke through the static.

"Fireteam Octavia, you are ordered to the Vault of Glass for a patrol respond"

"What the hell, why are we goin' on a patrol respond?" Atlas questioned, "aren't there any greenies around here?"

"There is a faint signal coming from the vault of glass and we want you to investigate" the voice of Zavala continued, "Get in, have your ghost take a reading and get out".

"Why do we always get the boring assignments" Vince complained as he begrudgingly slid his rifle across his back.

"One more thing Octavia" A serious tone entered Zavala's voice, " no funny business". Then the signal cut.

Despite their lazing about, they were still guardians so they had their campsite packed in minutes. After finishing up they summoned their sparrows and were on the way to a place they hoped never to return too.

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A lone Dreg stumbled around a ravine between two towering cliffs, its footfalls heavy, slow and lumbering. Clearly it was deprived of ether, and with no servitors in sight it was very likely this road in the middle of nowhere was to be its grave. It looked up with a start when it heard a strange whine approaching. Upon seeing three silvery chassis's racing towards it, its slow lumbering gait became a panicked scramble as one of the shapes peeled off to catch it. It began yelling in fear until the silvery shape caught it, and decapitated the thing in its tracks. Astride these sleek speed machines were a full fireteam of guardians, all laughing with reckless abandon.

"Did you see the look on its face!" Atlas spoke past a massive grin.

"Indeed I did" Xandar then tapped the bottom of his helmet thoughtfully, "I did not realize just how deadly sparrows could be" then started taking notes on the viability of sparrows as projectile weapons, somehow correcting his course at the same time.

As they flew along, the paid no attention to their surroundings, its awe inspiring majesty a numbed blur to the veteran fireteam. The first time they were here was long before the troubles of SIVA and its brainwashed hordes, Oryx and his taken army, and Skolas, Kell of house winter. They had passed this same scenery many years ago when they were called to defeat the Vex menace, Atheon in a daring mission where they joined up with fireteam Griffon to face the terrible machine-god. The price of victory was high however, as the entirety of fireteam Griffon was lost in the depths of time. The fear of sharing their date was the reason why Octavia had never gone back… until now.

Another consequence of Atheon's defeat was the opening of a rift through space-time that remained open to this day. It was unknown if the portal had a purpose or not, but an echo had been heard in the depths of the vault, where silence had reigned since Atheon's defeat. This was enough to call Ocativia to delve once more into the depths of the vault.

"Hey guys" Vince managed to say without losing face "we're here"

The whole building had begun to decay once Atheon perished, its majesty slowly disappearing as moss covered its once shining surface. Ironically, time had not been kind to the once mighty Vault, the door that they had once worked so hard to open lay in pieces at their feet, the oddly strong Vex metal cracked and rusted. The goblin sentinels still stood guard at the entrance, but they had long fallen silent, rusted into place by the passage of time, eternal guardians of the ruined vault.

The whole fireteam stood staring until finally Atlas began moving forward, a determined line crossing his face.

"We came here to do a job, lets get it done and go home".

Xandar and Vince strode after him, determined to finish this scan, then go back to tower and have a nice long rest with plenty of alcohol.

As they crossed the threshold a strong sense of foreboding fell over Xandar as he studied his surroundings. The roughly hewn rock walls seemed to press in on him and his palms began to sweat. Even without Atheon this was still a place of evil, and it was heavy with it.

"I don't like it guy's" Xandar motioned to the walls, "This whole place is giving me some bad vibes"

"No shit, it's the fucking vault of glass" Vince's easy confidence barely covering his own distaste, memories of the place giving him shivers

"Who wouldn't get those from this place"

"But look at the ceiling, those runes were definitely not there last time" Xandar gestured to the slightly glowing runes running along the top of the cave. They were written in a oddly delicate script, unusual for the vex.

"It looks like... cursive, old Earth writing if my assumptions are correct" Xandar observed

"Lets focus up Octavia" Atlas, the de-facto leader of the fireteam, ordered, "This ain't sunning ourselves and sniping captains, this is serious"

"Aye sir" They responded in tandem, Xandar snapping a few pictures of the strange markings before bringing up the rear. The cave passages they followed steadily grew tighter and narrower as they progressed until opening into a immense cavern. A large stone slab protruded about halfway over a massive ravine. Fireteam Octavia wasn't gazing in wonder though, because they had been here before.

The Templars abode

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 **This update has finally gotten this chapter to where I want it, so now I can finally start working on the next chapter. The new chapter will be up soon and I hope to update a little more regularly.**

 **-The Beagle**


	2. Chapter 2: Into The Deep Unknown

**Chapter** **2: Into The Deep Unknown**

The Templars abode was as foreboding as ever, and blanketed Fireteam Octavia with the long forgotten scent of the the Vex's foul energies. The immense underground cavern still held a power over the lone fireteam, their scars from the battles here still hadn't fully healed, and this visit ripped them wide open. Despite the absence of the Templar the place still pulsed with alien energies, and strange lights illuminated the shells of slain Vex. Their rusting bodies still laying where they had fallen all those years ago, when the members of Striketeam Enigma Destroyed the Templar. The first of many sentinels guarding the way into the deep recesses of the Vault of Glass.

Fireteam Octavia gazed over the decaying battlefield until their gazes came to rest of the body of the Templar. Its rusted chassis still bearing scorches and scars from its final battle, and small streamers of light rose from it, the potency of both fireteams combined light leaving eternal markers on the corpse of the once thought invincible hydra. The three guardians stood stoically in remembrance as a stream of memories carried them back to that fateful day.

 **Two Years Previously**

"I want Octavia on the left flank, hit it hard once I drop that fuckers shield, Then I want the rest of Griffon on the right flank covering Octavia" Ordered Olec, a huge titan and a veteran from the early days. Back when the tower was just a concept and the 'last city' was still a lawless wasteland. He was a Looming presence on the battlefield and one of the oldest and greatest titans still fighting on the front lines. He was a defender, and used this power to protect those under his charge with a fierce determination and unwavering strength. Without a moment's hesitation the Fireteams nodded in affirmation. They jogged to their respective positions, and brought weapons to bear, all trained on the oddly still Templar, its silent gaze following them throughout their preparations.

"I get a feeling this thing ain't gonna be happy once Olec grabs that relic" Vince whispered to Xandar, who was standing on his flank.

"I wonder what gave you that idea" He responded with his trademark sarcasm

"Get ready boys and girls, lets get this shit done" Olec shouted, his voice carrying to all the members of the Striketeam. Then without pausing for another second he strode forward, his boots ringing loudly on the cold stone of the floor, and grabbed the relic. He was immediately surrounded by a strange glow and a surge of power coursed through his body. As he stood there a loud screech echoed around the room and the entire striketeam looked on in awe as the Templar began to move, its immense size limiting its mobility.

"Man, you need to lose some weight big guy!" Atlas shouted, Unimpressed by the Vex monstrosity. As if insulted by the titans attempt at a joke it teleported behind Octavia with a burst of energy. It filled the room with its malevolent aura, as Octavia sprinted away form the horrific machine, firing in controlled bursts as they met up with Griffon.

"Goddamn, the cryptarchs didn't say shit about this thing teleporting", Xandar yelled to the others over the sound of gunfire.

"And apparently its immune to small arms as well" Vince informed them, his bullets having no effect on the massive shield surrounding it.

While the striketeam tried their best to figure out a solution, the strange energies surrounding the Templar flared and then it phased in directly behind Xandar. His perception of time slowed down as adrenaline saturated his bloodstream as he spun around to face the Vex monstrosity, and the bursts of fire from his pulse rifle lit up his obsidian helmet with orange fire. His normally controlled demeanour ripped away by the intense fear he felt as he fired his rifle till it clicked empty.

He roared at the Templar while the rest of the strike team turned and found cover. Without waiting another second he floated into the air and drew his arm back, the band around his bicep glowing as unfiltered power flowed through it. Void magic swirled around his body just begging to be unleashed onto something, anything, as long as it was living. The void did not care for allies or enemies, it only cared for destruction, and it was the Voidwalkers duty to direct this power through sheer force of will and mental fortitude. With a roar he unleashed the built-up power directly into the Templars center of mass, the resulting explosion knocked the Templar back as a cloud of dust rose from the floor to conceal it from view.

The sound of the impact echoed in the silence as the cloud of dust ballooned around the Templar, and the striketeam fell to silence as they watched in anticipation. Slowly Xandar settled back to the ground and stood alone in front of it, his shoulders heaving from his exertions, and his arms loose at his sides as he waited for the cloud to settle. From out of the dust the shadow of the Templar loomed, Unharmed and unfazed by the immense void blast. Xandar sighed and then from the templars body, several cannons along its torso unleashed massive plasma rounds, instantly vaporizing the exhausted warlock. In his place his ghost appeared, a shield of protective light surrounding it, just waiting to revive his fallen guardian

Olec strode forward, the relic on his arm brimming with energy, "Vince, get him rezzed so we can finish this bastard, the rest of you, distract that thing"

"Aye sir" Their voices rang out across the battlefield

They moved as one and poured a rain of fire onto the templar, thousands of rounds impacted on its shield to no effect, but it did get the ugly bastards attention. It began ambling towards the small team of guardians, they slowly backpedalled easily keeping pace. Meanwhile Vince ran towards the floating ghost and poured his light into it, becoming the catalyst for Xandar's return to life. With a burst of pure energy Xandar reformed, the power of the Traveller allowing him to return from death to fight against the darkness once more.

"You good" Vince asked, glancing at the Templar, and the four guardians keeping it distracted

"Yeah, thanks for the rez" Xandar replied, as he slowly got to his feet.

Vince stood up next to him and told Olec over the comm that Xandar was good to go. Following this the Striketeam split and took cover on opposing sides of the Templar. It screeched angrily as its logic software identified the highest priority target out of the six guardians present. After a moment it began lumbering towards Fireteam Griffon, identifying the relic in Olec's hands as the biggest threat.

"Get ready boy's, we're doing this thing right now" Olec's gruff voice growled over the comm.

Without waiting for a response he gripped the relic with both hands and shunted his light into it, noticing a considerable drop in his reserves as he did so. As he poured energy into it the relic grew brighter and brighter until finally a huge ball of energy shot out of the middle towards the floating Templar and its impenetrable shield. The guardians looked on in silence as it travelled across the field, and they all waited with bated breath while it crossed the intervening space. Then with an immense explosion is burst over the Templars shield with a burst of static, and promptly shut it down. They stood in stunned silence for a moment before Olec's voice reached their ears.

"Well don't just stand there, let's kill this thing!"

In but a moment the battlefield lit up with the combined fire of the Striketeam. Rockets, grenades, and supers rained down upon the templar like a torrential downpour, melting the Templars once stunning chassis into molten slag. It screamed as the Guardians unrelenting fire burned its way towards its core and the precious circuitry contained within. Slowly but surely they wore down the heavy layers of armor and shielding until a lucky round found its way to the figurative brain of the machine. With a concussive explosion it finally fell to the ground, parts of its liquified armor soldering it to the stone ground. The Vex monstrosity had finally been defeated and its once mighty abode, had become its grave.

 **Present day…**

Fireteam Octavia gazed solemnly upon the corpse of the Templar, silent as they all remembered the battle in their own way. Atlas held his 'Found Verdict' in a white-knuckled grip, and as they gazed around it they noticed a large scorch mark on the ground.

"That was the first Novabomb you missed Xandar", Vince joked, trying to lighten the mood, "You still surprise me every time you manage to hit something".

Atlas joined in, "Yeah you remember that one time in the crucib-"

"Enough!" Xandar shouted, "We have a mission to do, let's just get it done"

Vince and Atlas were stunned into silence by his outburst, then started chuckling

"How long did ya spend practicing that one?" Atlas questioned, barely able to contain his laughter

"That was a little uncalled for I suppose" Xandar lowered his voice, his embarrassment evident in his voice

"You got the right idea though", Atlas shrugged, "Let's move it"

Then as one they started towards the gaping doorway at the rear of the room, delving deeper into a past they could never forget… no matter how hard they tried.

 **Whew, another chapter done and in record time too. Hope you enjoyed and leave a review if you want as it is always appreciated.**

 **-The Beagle**


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